Tips on walking your child through a moving process.

Here you will find information about moving with kids and how to prepare them for a move. Moving is stressful for everyone even when it’s a positive change, for kids it can be even more stressful because they often feel powerless. Many kids thrive on familiarity and routine so as you consider a move, weigh the benefits of that change against the comfort that established surroundings, school and social life give your kids. Though the decision to move may be out of your hands, perhaps due to a job transfer or financial issues, even if you are not happy about the move try to maintain a positive attitude about it. During times of transition a parent’s moods and attitudes can greatly affect kids who may be looking for reassurance. Here are some tips on how to prepare your kids for a move.

First, talk about it sooner rather than later. Get a map and show them where you live currently and where your new home will be, answer all their questions as honestly as possible, you might get some questions you would never think about. Second, let them share their feelings. Moving can be both exciting and scary at the same time, you can be ready for adventure and also incredibly nervous about it, you could be happy to make new friends and sad to say goodbye to your old ones. Remind them that it’s okay to feel all the feelings, they don’t have to be just happy or just sad, they can be both and it’s also okay for their feelings to change and fluctuate. Third, plan the right time to move. If you’re able to plan the move at a good time for your family, if you’re moving in between school years or moving in the middle of the summer is a great time, they’ll still have a little summer with their old friends and a little bit of summer to get acquainted in their new town before school starts. If you have to move in in the middle of the school year but you have a little flexibility, take a look at the school calendar and plan accordingly. Fourth, visit their new home. Visiting their new home before you move will help your kids visualize where they will eat, sleep and play. If you are moving cross-country and this is impossible, show them photos and videos of the house so the kids could see their new rooms and their new backyard and their new kitchen. Let them help plan out their new room, let your kids help decorate their new rooms by picking out a fun paint collar, a new light, and a new bedspread and shades. Getting them pumped about their new room will help them get ready for the first night in the new space.

Fifth, pare down and declutter early. If you have to pare down your kids toys and clothes for the new house, do it as far away from your move date as you can so your kids don’t associate giving up old toys to the move. One magic trick for getting kids to clean out their own stuff, is to lay it all out and ask them which toys or t-shirts they want to keep. Give them a number and have them choose that many items they want to save, the mindset of keeping and saving things is way easier than picking out what they’ve got to give away. Sixth, have kids help pack. Some kids feel scared about losing their stuff. Remind them that as soon as you get to your new house and the truck is pulled up all of their stuff would be safely inside the box just as you packed it and let your kids draw on the boxes, because it keeps them busy while you are packing and they feel more ownership of the process. Last but not least, plan a going away party. Saying goodbye is going to be hard for everyone. Having a set time when friends can stop by and get one more hug, can either be extra hard or a lifesaver; it depends on your kid’s personality.